Harper meets with Governor General, forms government

OTTAWA, On. – It was back to business for the Harper government, Wednesday, and the first thing on the agenda was a meeting with the Governor General.

Harper met with Governor General David Johnston at 9 a.m.at Ottawa’s Rideau Hall.

The meeting lasted about 30-minutes and included the Prime Minister informing the Governor General he has consulted the people of Canada and he is prepared to form government – the first formal step for the Conservative majority.

On his way into the meeting Harper told reporters the government was coming back soon but no date had been set.

Harper and his staff spent much of the rest of the day moving back into the Prime Minister’s office.

Other priorities for the day included putting together the cabinet and replacing the four ministers who were defeated in Monday’s election, including Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon.

The Conservative Leader’s cabinet is expected to have rich representation from the Toronto area with returning Whitby-Oshawa M.P. Jim Flaherty, Vaughan M.P. Julian Fantino, Halton’s Lisa Raitt and M.P. for Durham Bev Oda.

Bernard Trottier, who defeated Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff in the Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding could also be among the rookies in cabinet.

Speculation is swirling about who might succeed Ignatieff as Liberal Leader. Bob Rae, New Brunswick M.P. Dominic LeBlanc and Justin Trudeau are the names being tossed around.

Pollster John Wright with Ipsos, a leader in Canadian market research, told CityNews he is not sure if Trudeau is the right choice for the role.

“It’s not his ‘now’ time, and I am not really sure that people in the rest of the country are ready for another Trudeau at this time,” he said.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty was asked by reporters if he might be interested in the job, but he quickly responded: “nope.”